Study: Graphic anti-smoking ads may help

Amanda Cuda

Updated 10:58 pm, Tuesday, September 10, 2013

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Tips from Former Smokers. It sounds like such a benign concept. But the anti-smoking ad campaign by that name -- launched last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- was far more harrowing than its name suggested. It also might be saving lives.

The campaign featured real ex-smokers, many of whom had their bodies ravaged by their old habit. One ad features Bill, 40, of Michigan, who lost a leg as the combined result of smoking and diabetes. Throughout his testimony, he's frequently overcome by emotion, at one point tearfully lamenting, "I lost a lifetime because of that stupid stuff." Other ads feature people who suffered cancer, severe asthma attacks and other hardships as a result of smoking.

The commercials are disturbing, graphic and difficult to watch -- and they might have worked. A CDC-funded study released this week in the journal The Lancet shows that the commercials might have led more than 200,000 people to quit smoking, and about half of those will likely quit permanently. The research also showed that 1.6 million additional smokers made an attempt at quitting during the campaign.

To some degree, the study results aren't that surprising, said Dr. Stuart Zarich, Bridgeport Hospital's chief of cardiovascular medicine. He's always believed that strong imagery is a useful tool to get people to quit smoking.

"We always tell patients, if you want to quit smoking, get a picture of your grandchild and put it in the cellophane in your cigarette pack," Zarich said. "Often, talking about the potential consequences of smoking is not as effective as showing the consequences."

In the Lancet study, researchers surveyed more than 5,000 people, roughly 3,000 of whom were smokers, about the campaign. Of those surveyed, about 78 percent of smokers and 74 percent of non-smokers saw the ad and, during the period of the campaign, attempts to quit by the smokers rose roughly 12 percent. Researchers estimated, based on the survey group, that 220,000 people quit smoking during the campaign, and about 100,000 of those were expected to quit permanently.

Locally, Zarich and other doctors said graphic campaigns like these can help sell the dangers of smoking. "(The ads) may look and sound horrific, but that's because this is horrific," said Dr. Paul Sachs, director of pulmonary medicine at Stamford Hospital. "This is what's going on."

However, Sachs pointed out one flaw in the commercials. He said they aren't likely to reach a group that anti-smoking advocates are particularly worried about -- kids. Most of the people featured in the ads are adults, Sachs said.

"Kids don't look to those ads and relate to them," he said.

But overall, health officials said the research is positive, even if it just reinforces what they've known in the past.

"This data shows once again the effectiveness of hard-hitting graphic images," said Ruth Canovi, Connecticut manager of public policy for the American Lung Association of the Northeast. "We know that this campaign and campaigns like it have a demonstrable effect to help smokers not only attempt to quit, but also to successfully quit smoking. These campaigns are one additional tool in the toolbox of helping prevent kids from starting to smoke and helping adults quit."